The Great Pretender
by shattered petal
Summary: He was never mine to lose. -ZeLink/onesided MidLink


**Title**: The Great Pretender  
**Genres**: Romance/Angst  
**Rating**: K+  
**Couples**: Link/Zelda + Onesided Link/Midna

* * *

They are bound to be together.

From the very beginning, she knows–– a thread is drawn between them, and, secretly, they cling on. The two, so young and bright, never need to exchange words. It is _there_; meant to be. They are perfect human beings, a Hero and his Princess. Nothing appears unusual about them, or awkward, or strange. From the very beginning, they share a gift together. One she can never possess.

At first, she doesn't care. Light Dwellers are pathetic, emotional and weak creatures. They do not recognise strength, stoicism. They do not recognise _stone_, iron, a mask. They are light, full of spirit and naïvety. Even though they do not know each other, they are happy to be in each other's presence. In fact, the Hero and Princess have such a fierce bond, no words are necessary to express how much they cared.

But then the Hero transforms, and he is no longer a Boy, a Child, who needs to be hugged. He becomes a Man, a Warrior, full of pride and strength. And he is beautiful. She has never witnessed someone so supreme in her life, and he frightens her. He frightens her because he has proved her wrong; he frightens her because, somehow, he has managed to make her heart race a little faster.

It isn't lust. It isn't admiration. It isn't obsession.

It is Love.

What she feels. And it is powerful. So powerful she begins to panic, becomes confused. Love doesn't register. It isn't _natural_. Not for her. She _isn't_ a pathetic Light Dweller who _feeds_ off positive emotions. Positive. It makes her laugh. Love cannot _ever_ be associated with a positive element.

This Love controls her, and she is sickened. She wants him–– _needs_ him. The very thought of this Man makes her want to cry, and she can't _think_. For once, she has been defeated, crushed into an insignificant human... creature... _animal_. She is not like him.

For months, he remains by her side, oblivious. He probably still thinks she hates him. Why she ever hated him–– it baffles her. This Man is wonderful; he's too kind. His heart is leaking with goodness and joy. And she tries to reach out and touch this goodness; she's curious, _desperate_. However he always remains oblivious and moves away, eyes set ahead, eyes set on the Princess.

She pretends to not care. _She has always pretended_. The Great Pretender.

When the Hero and Princess meet again, she doesn't look at them. She bows her head, closes her eyes, stops the scene. She can't _look at them_. She can't. It hurts, everything. She _knows_ what the Hero is feeling because she feels the exact same way. Only her entire body is trembling in _agony_. Pain whips at her heart, wounds her already damaged soul, and she wants to scream.

The Hero and Princess are perfect.

And they both know it.

Envy no longer exists in her mind. This Hero has saved her from any ugly emotion. All she feels is passion, passion for him, for his realm, for everything that belongs to him. He is happy, when the Princess awakens and looks at him, he is happy. He is relieved. For once, he feels _happy_.

Something she has never been capable of offering him.

Saving his and her life isn't difficult. Yet when he attempts to grab her, stop her, she wishes he won't. It's already too late, because whatever _life_ is left within her he now possesses.

He _is_ her life.

Even when she is resurrected, a tormenting gift, she transforms into him, when he was a Boy. A coward, weak and timid, confused, unsure, frightened. Unlike the Boy, though, she is blind with a strong, shattering longing.

He smiles at her, he has ran to see her, but it is not the same happiness he shares with the Princess. She knows by now, she is only in the way. She knows by now that he is gone, he can never be hers. She knows by now that such a scenario is impossible.

They are simply not _bound_ to be one.

Forever, he will question himself why she broke the mirror, let the pieces fall, reflect the image of her heart when the Hero and Princess walk together, hand-in-hand.

_He was never mine to lose._

* * *

**author's note**: I don't ship ZeLink to be perfectly honest, _especially _in _Twilight Princess_, but after watching _Les Miserables_ and hearing the song _In My Life_... well, how could I not resist torturing my OTP yet again? Please review! No bashing the ships, okay? That's not how I roll.


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